


Synthetic

by airute (siruru)



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Mutual Pining, Secret Crush, Slow Dancing, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-11 10:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13522623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/airute
Summary: Don't you ever love again.[Implied TYL! Reader/Tsuna Sawada] [TYL! Reader/Yamamoto Takeshi]





	1. no.

_you're such a bad person._   


You curse at the message flashing brightly on the phone in front of you. The coffee you had ordered has become stone cold, as you forget about the lunch you had prepared with care over the last week. Some of your fingers are covered with bandages due to the failed attempts of making a decent lunch for the young man that you had set your hopes on, but it seems that the return of his old crush has put a halt on any plans that you had for the day. Haru had told you once not to fall for the brown-haired teenager because he would just end up playing with your heart unintentional as it was because he is too sweet and indecisive to make a choice. Nobody comes between him and the illusion that he could still get with his dream girl, even though they had tried and failed a million times before. You sit in the empty cafe as tears begin to slowly descend down your face, but all that comes out of your mouth is a broken sounding laughter. You grip the small mobile device and hang your head down as a feeling of suffocation soon grows within your lungs, numbing you for a a few moments before you wipe the tears with the underside of your jacket's sleeve. You stand up, grab the bag, and leave the small shop before dumping the food container into the nearest trash can. You look at the gray sky for a moment. Your breath coming out in small puffs of anger and sneer lightly before sighing in resignation. A sentence leaves your quivering and chapped lips as you move on, probably to hang out with Haru or someone that will push you aside so easily. 

"You're such a cruel person, Tsuna."

* * *

"How are you still so indecisive at twenty-five?"

He can actually hear the sneer in your voice through the other side of the phone. The brown-haired man frowns at the comment, but has to admit there is some truth to your statement. Everything you have said to him is so painfully cruel and true at the same time. Even after all these years, he has a weakness towards the woman that has been his first love Kyoko Sasagawa and tends to push away the beautiful lady that he would be courting to see her again. Maybe, to try it once again no matter how many times they had failed before. However, this time the situation is the other way around with Kyoko invited with her significant other to celebrate Tsuna's birthday with all of their friends. He did not know what to do and had called you who was away on a business trip for the Vongola and all he did was aggravate you even more, something that you did not need since you had a meeting to attend within a few hours. The two of you didn't always get along, but you are honest with him and that is what he needs at the moment. You sigh and he could imagine you in the hotel room walking back and forth, thinking of the best advice you could give him. Even if you have a short temper towards him at times, you are still friends and you try your hardest to steer him onto the right path. He smiles at the thought, suddenly feeling flustered like he usually had as of recently when he talked or thought about you.

"You should find some cute girl to have a good time with. It's your birthday, she shouldn't matter."

"..."

"And if I asked you to be that girl?"

There is a dead silence on the other side of the moment. Tsuna knows why he asked that question and he is taking your advice about being decisive about something for once. However, he is still fearful about what you would say, as the only thing he could hear is your steady breathing on the other side of the phone. There is a million thoughts rushing through his head, as his palms grow sweaty and he finds himself sitting up on the big couch in the center of the Vongola study waiting for your answer. He hates the dread that he is feeling, but he knows that he could treat you right if you see what he is secretly trying to say. His thoughts are paused when he hears you curse and it makes him want to laugh if he was not so worried. How did asking for advice turn into this? Surely, he knows how to make a situation even worst when it comes to romance, but he is truly tired of the illusion that would never come about with the younger Sasagawa. But, is this just a rebound for him? All those fearful thoughts and the image of a younger you crying in a cafe back in Namimori years ago makes the decision clear in your mind.

"No, I can't be that for you."

"I..."

All he can hear is the dial tone as you hang up the phone on him.

**i don't want you anymore.**


	2. another

_baby, i don't like you._

The sky is graying when you are about halfway to your home after leaving the cafe. It slowly turns into a light drizzle as the streets become devoid of any type of life, as you keep walking not really caring due to the thick jacket that you are currently wearing. There are better things that you are doing, such as calling yourself a fool in your mind for what seems to be the hundredth time. How could you have honestly thought that he would choose you over Kyoko? He had been set on her for years and there wasn't anything stopping that tenacity that made him hold onto that wish, Haru had been right when she warned you. You let out a tired sigh, too immersed in your heavy thoughts until you notice that the rain has stopped falling on you. You look up and notice an umbrella that you are currently sharing with a certain smiling baseball star. He grins down at you since the youth has grown quite a lot since middle school; your heart throbs a bit in pain. You don't want him to see you like this, so you turn your head back down to stare at your feet and the wet pavement. He doesn't say anything doesn't really need to but he wraps his arm around your shoulders, while still sheltering you with the umbrella in his other hand, not really caring that he is getting wet in the process. You start sniffling a bit before it turns into crying, but Yamamoto never says anything throughout the entire event. He is silent and keeps rubbing your back until you finally calm down and look at him with blood-shot eyes and he keeps grinning. He ignores the entire thing that has just happened as the two of you proceed to walk in the rain together, much closer than before. The swordsman lets out a laugh that you follow with a much weaker one.

"Let's go to my place, I'll treat you to some sushi!"

"Sure."

* * *

Tsunayoshi Sawada is a nervous wreck, but he never lets it show, as he smiles and greets his guests who all give him happy birthday wishes. He is nervous for two reasons: one, Kyoko Sasagawa is supposed to arrive at any moment and two he hadn't seen you since you had returned from the business meeting. He feels like such a fool for saying those words to you, but deep down he knows that there is some sincerity towards what he had told you. He is not sure when it had happened, but he is slowly but surely falling for you. He needs to set everything right, ask for your forgiveness and permanently end his addiction to the younger of the Sasagawa siblings. Haru gives him a warm smile as she grabs Gokudera's arm, while his right-hand man blushes a bit before wishing him a happy birthday as well. It isn't until an hour later after he is done with greeting all his guests that she decides to make her presence known to him. Her brown-orange hair is cut shorter than before, curling around the base of her neck. She is encased in a gold dress that shimmers as she moves with pearl-colored lipstick and makeup that gives her that misty sort of appeal. She is beautiful, that is something that Tsuna will always be certain of. Tsuna knows the man next to her, one of his allies and a person that use to torture him back in middle school, but Mochida had matured and grown out of those habits.

"Happy Birthday, Tsuna."

"Who would have thought you would have ended up like?"

"Yes, life has been fortune to me."

Mochida grins and talks some more before pulling away Kyoko, she eyes him one last time before leaving, to share in the festivities of the grand ballroom, as other guests smile and talk with one another. Almost everyone is here, except for one or two guardians that do not like being crowded with other people, but he lets that slide for now. Everyone is dressed in their finest clothing, but he still cannot find the one person that he is looking for among the sea of people. The dancing soon starts and is supposed to last until dinner is served, followed by more dancing and drinking until the people decide to call it a night. However, he is too nervous to enjoy any of those activities until he hears two familiar voices arguing not too far away from him.

"I teaching you how to dance didn't mean I would dance with you tonight."

 

"What fun is it if you don't show it off?"

"Takeshi!"

You give up as the Rain Guardian pulls you to where everyone is dancing. The frills of your evening dress slide across the floor, as the taller man pulls your closer and places his left hand on your right hip. You give him a warning look making silent promises on what will happen if he ruins your dress, but he just smiles and begins to move with the music. It has taken him weeks to perfect the moves since the both of you were away from each other so often, but anytime the two of you meet, he was a quick learner and made up for his mistakes with jokes and smiles all around. Maybe, Reborn's idea a few months back had been a good one after all. That bad habit of yours emerges once again as Yamamoto notices that you are too immersed into your own thoughts once again, but he can only grin and make you follow the pace that he has set. The two of you dance to three more songs and by the end everyone is just staring at you. Once the dark-haired man stops, everyone starts clapping including a surprised brown-haired man who the party is supposed to be for. Both you and Takeshi smile at the crowd before he whisks you away for the rest of the night. The image is imbedded in Tsunayoshi's mind of his dark-haired friend's chin placed on top of your head, his hand wrapped around your waist, and a soft smile on your lips.

"See, I told you it was a good idea."

"Are you going to brag about that all night?" 

**watch over the happy me from afar.**


	3. declaration.

_so, i put my faith in something unknown._

"How did it happen?"

It is what they all ask you whenever they see you. They murmur to themselves in excitement on why they had not seen it before, but you stay quiet and do not answer any of their questions. It is not that you don't want to. It is that you don't know how to because this isn't a simple thing that happened overnight. No, this --whatever you have with Takeshi-- was created in short bursts over the years of knowing each other, of being there when the other had no other place to go. He had been protective of you since the beginning and your care seems to grow over the years of tending to his injuries and the late nights that you had together because the nightmares were too much for him to handle alone. However, you tell them one little detail to please their curiosity for the moment. They gather around you when you start talking about a night back in Japan when you were not feeling your best, but you had promised to have a dancing session with him. He had promised to be at the place you were staying around seven, but he been an hour late without a phone call. By the time, he had arrived you were tired and in no mode to teach him anything for the night. You were going to scold him for being forgetful until he arrived with sushi, some cold medicine, and those stupid sports movies that he loved so much. He just stared at you in the doorway with that boyish grin of his that seems to wither away the serious look that he always seemed to have. You looked at him for a moment and thought-

"What did you think?"

"I wouldn't mind this becoming a common occurrence."

* * *

It is after the end of the morning meeting a few days after his birthday that Tsuna decides to finally ask Yamamoto. The Vongola Guardians slowly fill out of the meeting room, as the brown-haired leader stops his swordsman and tells him to sit back down. Gokudera pauses for a moment and looks at them both, contemplating whether to stay behind himself before he is told to leave with the rest of the group. Olive colored eyes clash with brown ones, as the right-hand man can see the desperation on Tsuna's face. Gokudera and Haru had seen him look frantically for you throughout the whole night after you had left with the Rain Guardian. He knew that his boss wanted to tell you something and was going to help with the search if Haru had not stopped him from doing so. Gokudera Hayato has always cared for Tsuna's happiness, but his wife cares about yours and he will not fight with Haru about that. Deep down, he knows what his boss is doing is destructive and you are obviously moving away, unlike Tsuna with Kyoko, and your rescuer is obviously the man smiling from across the room. The silver-haired man just hopes that everything will be alright without the need for a fight as he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.

"I have a question about--"

"About her, right?"

"Yes, I have been wondering what type of relation you have with her."

Tsuna can tell the moment when Yamamoto becomes serious about the situation. The dark-haired man straightens up in his chair. The Vongola boss has only seen his friend like this when it comes to either baseball or his sword training, it makes him a bit unnerved on how Yamamoto can change his demeanor so quickly. Takeshi starts talking and he has Tsunayoshi's undivided attention. The Japanese man begins with Reborn's idea of you teaching him how to dance. You had been apprehensive since you had no taken dancing classes in a very long time and you were not the best person to teach someone else since you were always so impatient. However, you were also aware that he was a quick learner, which made it easier for you to say yes, after he coerced you by bringing your favorite sweets that were only made in Namimori. Takeshi laughs while remembering how awful your first few lessons together were, but he had fun. It makes a chill run down Tsuna'spine at how close the two of you had gotten within a few short months compared to you and him, though he had to admit he had never tried to notice any other woman besides Kyoko until recently. There are a million little details that he did not know about you, but Yamamoto obviously did. He clutches his hands into fists until they turn a painful white color as the former baseball player finishes his story with his birthday party being the setting for something big. His brown eyes darken as he narrates how he confessed his real feelings --the ones that had been building up for years-- to you after the two of you had left the ballroom. Tsuna grits his teeth together as Takeshi admits that he not received your answer that night, but you had kissed him back under the starry Italy sky.

"I don't know what my relationship with her is at the current moment."

"I see."

"But, that doesn't mean that I am willing to give her up either." 

**it isn't easy for me to let go.**


	4. stop and move on.

_at some point, i got over you._

"This is my daughter."

The elder Mafioso introduces his young daughter to the brown-haired man, as he smiles and kisses her hand. The young woman, maybe two or three years older than you, giggles and begins to ask Tsunayoshi simple questions. Both her and her father, born and raised into the world of Mafia elites, are pushing the young Vongola leader to see is he really lives up to all the rumors and mysteries surrounding him and Tsuna pushes them back with his knowledge and charm. It always ends up the same way with the father impressed and the girl head over heels with the picture that Tsuna gives to the public, the one Reborn has been crafting with him for years. Maybe, they'll go out for the few dates until the father brings up the question of marriage and his family merging with the Vongola, in which Tsuna cuts of all contact because he is still in love with someone else and there is no room in his heart for anyone else. You knew this too well and through these transactions, you had desperately wished to have been that girl to dance all night with him. To live your days with him and call him to have lunch or dinner when his work was done, it was all you had ever wanted. However, one day it just stopped being that, the hope had died. All you could was stare at them with uninterested eyes and wait for the server to come with the next round of drinks. Instead, someone stands next to you with your favorite drink in his hand and a smile on his face.

"I thought you would get tired of waiting."

* * *

"Are you sure you couldn't have asked anyone else?"

"I'm sorry, but no."

Tsuna gives you a small sheepish smile and you go can do is show how irritated you feel at the moment. He had no date for this gala that many prominent families where going to attend. Reborn had given him numerous choices to choose from, but all he said is that he wanted to go with you -- not as his bodyguard, but as his date. He kept asking and asking, while you rebuffed him every time until his desperation made you give up. Now, you were here in a beautiful silk blue dress with his hand around your waist. This isn't where you wanted to be tonight, but Takeshi was in Greece for the next month. It wasn't that you did not want to give him your answer; it was that the time you had to see him was limited since Tsuna kept the two of you so busy with different projects. It almost seemed like he was trying to keep the two of you apart, but you didn't want to think that he could be that petty. He takes you out of your train of thoughts when he introduces you to an elderly couple and their immediate family, they are group that is relatively strong within Milan.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"A-Ah..."

"No, I am a member of the Vongola who came as a last minute replacement."

You can tell that the daughter is relieved with the smile that blooms on her face, as she resumes talking to Tsuna. However, she is still watching how his hand is carefully placed on your hip and it eventually annoys her that she decides to leave with the rest of her family. The taller man lets out a sigh, as you remove his hand from your hip. You don't catch the disheartened smile on his face, as you try to find the nearest waiter with something hard to drink. The rest of the night goes on without a hitch, but you can't help compare them in the back of your mind. The active conversations you have with Takeshi are filled with awkward silence and meaningless small talk with Tsunayoshi. Takeshi can eat for the both of you and even more, while Tsuna can only eat so much and in small calculated bites. Though, they are both naturally bad dancers, Takeshi makes up for it with goofy smiles and silly gestures, while all your boss does is blush and offer small apologies. It might have made your heart race years ago, but it doesn't now. The night comes to an end with you and him, along with many others, staring at the night sky as the fireworks begin. He tries to get closer to you, but you give him slight push to move away from you. He stares at you in confusion and you can only stare at the distant between the two of you. You begin to speak in a harsh tone that surprises him. It is that anger and sadness from that the teenaged girl you once were felt and the confusion you are feeling now, because this isn't what you want anymore.

"Have you really fallen for me, Tsunayoshi?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Why? When? How?"

"Do you really need those types of answers?"

"Do you I can tell when I fell in love with you?"

"W-What?"

"I can also tell you the moment I fell out of it as well."

**slowly, i forgot everything so it wouldn't hurt anymore.**


	5. fight or flight complex.

_if you believe that it’s love._

“Have you been avoiding me on purpose?”

His question breaks the silence that is deeply rooted within the Vongola library. You look at him in momentary confusion before shaking your head back and forth at his question because that is the last thing you would ever want to do. He smiles at your answer and grabs your cheek lightly; he breathes a sigh of relief because he had been fearful that his confession had drawn you away as a result. You smile back and tell him that you have been busy with so many things to do. Unlike Yamamoto, you worked in gathering information and intelligence on other families, while he did most of the dirty work for the family that often returned to haunt him in the nightmares that you were so used to hearing by now. Nevertheless, one thing tied both of your jobs together – the duty towards the Vongola and Tsunayoshi.

Yet, for a while now, he had been giving you more work than what would be considered normal and you had to wonder why. It had been a little odd at first, but now it was just tiring, especially since most of your free time was now spent writing endless reports and giving them directly to him. There wasn’t really any time to see Yamamoto, let alone give him an answer. Nonetheless, in the dark corners of the aging estate, you finally got to do what you have wanted to do for some time now. You grabbed the collar of his white shirt and pull him down to your level. His eyes gain a curious look before you smash your lips into his. All you can do is grin as he eagerly answers back and wraps his arms around your waist, lifting you slightly off the ground. The rest of world is forgotten for the two of you. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him closer than before until your lungs are burning. Yet, the magical moment is broken when the two of you hear someone clearing their throat. Yamamoto turns his body for the both of you to get a clear view of a rather embarrassed Gokudera standing at the beginning of the book hallway the two of you are standing in the middle of. He shakes his head before becoming serious and looking directly at you. Yamamoto can only sigh, as you frown and quickly push your body away from his.

“The Tenth is looking for you.”

* * *

“Please, listen to my story.” 

This is the first thing that you tell Tsunyoshi after arriving back to the Vongola mansion. He nods as you motion him to follow you into the large library in the center of the estate. The book ways are empty and dark, as you tell him to sit down. He tries pulling a seat for you, but you shake your head and tell him to sit down. You take your own seat slightly away from him and place your hands on top of the wooden table. You think for a moment and heave a sigh as your shoulders slump forward. He notices your eyes going dimmer as you dig back into the memories that had hurt you so much. Yet, maybe, it was better to finally tell him everything you had felt and experienced before moving on, so you wouldn’t regret later on in life, especially in your line of duty.

“Tsunayoshi, do you remember how we first met?”

“In high school, no?”

“To be exact, we met the summer between middle school and high school.” 

“You saved my life back them, any girl would have fallen from the start because of that,” you state with a bitter smile on your lips. His eyes lighten up at the simple statement and you hum slightly, as if being drawn into a simpler time, when you were still innocent and didn’t know about death and heartache.

_You hear the sound of bones cracking underneath fists, as your turns your face –a swollen eye and possibly broken jaw—to see a young man with flames surrounding his body beating the black suited women that had gone after you. There are two other silhouettes next to him, but your eyes are slowly trained on the sun shining above you. Between the adrenaline running through your body and the aches rushing throughout your body, you weren’t sure you were going to live, but the smile he have you for a split second made you want to believe that everything was going to be all right in the long run._

_“Are you Mrs. Masaki’s granddaughter?”_

_**Maybe, that’s when you began to fall in love.** _

“I was in love with you for nearly 10 years, waiting to see if you would notice,” you continue, brushing over the confusion you still felt over your grandmother’s past and the larger results it had on your life as a result – but, that wasn’t the discussion you were having today. Tsunayoshi’s eyes widen for a moment at the declaration because he wasn't aware of most the affection held towards him by the fairer sex (especially in his younger days), but maybe now he understood, even if only a little.

“I’m sorry. I d-d-didn---“

“Of course, you didn’t. You were in love with Kyoko and there were so many other important things than a silly girl’s crush to take care of.”

He gives you a look that tells you that you shouldn’t be belittling your own feelings that way, but you just shake your head lightly. Your emotions towards him always made you question your own self-worth and had you comparing yourself to Kyoko, and Haru, and all those other mafia women that fought for his attention as the head of the Vongola, it was sickening and suffocating and it took you a long time to overcome it. Up to that moment, you would have done anything for him because that sort of obsessive love made people do stupid things, but it was the warm, bubbly one that you had towards Takeshi now that you were certain was something else – a thing that didn’t hold anything over your head like a prize. Maybe, just now was when it suddenly clicked, but you really loved that baseball idiot, didn’t you? You sigh lightly and continue. 

“I tried so hard, for so many years and in one moment I stopped caring, but…” 

“But, what…?” he asks, an anxiety within him makes his voice go up a bit higher. He might be thinking that he has a chance after all, but your heart is dead to all those feelings and something else has bloomed within its place.

“…Takeshi has always been there, since I can remember. It’s just sort of happened.” 

“I see.”

“I don’t know when, but it just seems we have always been there for each other…since Namimori.”

_You remember it too easily because it is two nights after Kyoko decides to break up with Tsunayoshi and you’re on pins and needles to see if he needs your help, so maybe just maybe he’ll look your way. The small beep from your watch indicates that it is 12am, as you stand outside the Sawada’s small backyard to take a break from the (pity)party that seems to be going on inside – it’s then when you see him. He’s leaning next to the porch, head placed to the pillar as if he’s asleep. You move closer and his head perks up to look at you with dead brown eyes and large bags underneath them, as he gives you a sleepy half smile._

_“Hey…are you okay, Yamamoto?”_

_“Just trying to sleep…”_

_“Do you need anything?”_

_“Could you stay with me for a while?”_

_You move slowly and take a seat next him and his head immediately falls onto your shoulders. You stiffen up from a bit, as his lanky body begins to mold into your own. He yawns rather loudly and murmurs something about your perfume, but you to busy panicking inside to make a comment. With a bright red face, you glance at the young man using your shoulder as a pillow before looking back at the twinkling stars up above, as he begins to slow down his breath – a sign that he is slowly falling asleep as he wraps his arm around yours. You place your head to lean on his and begin to hum a song from your old ballet lessons._

_“Sweet dreams, Yamamoto.”_

_**Maybe, that’s when he began to fall in love.** _

You clutch and release the fists that you have been making, as you wait for Tsunayoshi -- an action that you have done for far too long, so you begin to speak with the hope that whatever emotions he may have for you will die with the declaration, confidently and lovingly, leaving your lips.

“I don’t know the extent of what you feel towards me at this moment, but I would rather not know.”

“Because—“

“…Because I love Takeshi.”

There is a fragile smile on his face and you hope he finally understands.

_it might but, it’s certainly not mine._


	6. tell me the truth.

_it’s okay to think that you’re the star sometimes..._

It's one stupid mistake, one small miscalculation but Takeshi knows that in this line of work that could end of a life in an instant. He was good, too good at times for this and maybe that's were got cocky because now he is laying on the cold linoleum floor with a bullet wound to his shoulder, bleeding profusely. He takes steady and deep breathes as he can hear Ryohei ahead of him, fighting and yelling for him to wait a bit longer. However, Takeshi can only see the black haze in the corner of his eyes and a certain, sweet voice reprimanding him.

__

"Not caring about your own body is gonna kill you one day, Yamamoto."

It is the summer between high school and college. It's another bad incident that has him sitting next to you outside of his father's business, cold and injured as you tend to his wounds. He could have stopped at the base outside of Namimori, but he needed to see you -- needed to know that you were safe because the enemy had told him with his dying breathes what Yamamoto Takeshi's true weakness was. It had made him laugh in exhaustion once he realized he had been so foolish about his own feelings towards you -- utterly and helplessly in love. And now that he is completely aware of it, he wonder if this is how you feel around Tsuna

Are you supposed to feel so alone when in love?

Okay, maybe he is being a little dramatic but he knows that he doesn't have a chance when you yourself have a disastrous ones-sided crush towards his best friend. He can only watch you from afar and keep trying to consul you whenever your own dream were unknowingly crushed - he would be your dearest friend and he was all right with that. However, under the cover of the streetlight with you tending to his shoulder so gently and the worried look on your face over his safety, Takeshi allows himself one weakness.

With you looking at him with proud look of your handiwork, he lets himself lean in and place a light kiss on your forehead. Your cheeks are flushed as you give him a shy smile as he whispers thank you, and its a memory close to his heart for a very long time.

"And that's when I realized that I would love her, even if she never did. Love makes ya do crazy things," Takeshi remembers retelling that story to Gokudera on a lazy mission when the silver-haired man realized his own feelings towards Haru; though Takeshi has never thought he would have come this far on such things.

* * *

"Yamamoto is making some progress, the Sun flames are helping a lot."

It's been a couple of day after your declaration that Tsuna when they are finally able to find Yamamoto and Ryohei somewhere along the Mediterranean. The Sun Guardian wasn't as injured but Takeshi was barely breathing when they found them, which had lead to the Vongola extraction team leading him to a hospital near Rome before heading back to the mansion. After his rejection, Tsuna almost didn't tell you that Takeshi was coming back home unconsciousness, he had almost sent you back to Namimori for an extended period of time -- it was childish and stupid, it wasn't like him but his heart hurt more than it had in a long time. However, one long stare in your direction on one particular day made he give all that up (and maybe a little scolding from Reborn as well).

_He has never seen you look so desperate, a lost look on your face as your hand wring around a small cloth over and over again. He wants to say so many things, he had wished a hundred times over that you would feel something to fraction of what you felt towards Yamamoto for him. Maybe, you did once --as he knew now-- but the seasons and years has killed all that. He had been a fool not to have seen your true emotions, but he had never been good at reading people (reading your kindness and cold indifference), and maybe that was something his Rain Guardian was better at._

__

_"Have you heard anything about Yamamoto and Sasagawa?"_

_"I--"_

_"Tsunayoshi, please."_

_"They'll arrive in a couple of hours, Takeshi has been seriously injured."_

That's where you had been the past two days, by Yamamoto's side in the medical wing and hardly leaving him outside of attending to your duties and eating. Tsunayoshi watched you from the darker areas of the room too see how you hung onto his hand and talked about what he had missed. How you missed him and all the things you wanted do with him once he got well. You loved him, and everyone could see that.

It takes another three days for him to wake up, in the early morning hours when you are snoring by his side and holding his uninjured left arm. Your hair covering your face but he could still hear the soft snoring he had gotten used to during the nights you spent watching movies together or when he spent sleepless night watching over you. Takeshi moves a little and it causes you to stir a little. He laughs at your sleepy murmuring, which causes you to shot straight up and look at his smiling face. 

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" you question as you stand up and run the palms of your hands over his face and shoulders. He winces a little from the cut on his cheek, but keeps that goofy smile on his face that always seems to get your blood boiling. 

"You were worried about me," he states more than asks as you frown because it was such a stupid question, because in the end of the day you always worried about him. Takeshi had been your dearest and closest friend and when he was away you worried, when he woke up in a cold sweat you worried. If you hadn't been so obsessed with Tsuna maybe you would have noticed it sooner, but this stupid baseball idiot has grabbed a part of your heart a long time ago.

"Of course, I would worry. I _care_ about you a lot, Takeshi," is all you can really say before shying away of being so upfront with your emotions. It looks like he stops breathing before pulling you close to him. You blush a little and it causes him to gain a bit more courage with his next question.

"As a friend? Or something else?" he says in a soft tone, as he watches a certain shadow leave from the corner of his eye, though he would be lying if he hadn't been waiting for this.

"I think I know what this is...and I want to **try** ," your murmur as his smile turns a million times brighter than before as he pulls you in for a kiss. 

"That's all I've ever wanted."

It might have taken you a long time to reach this point, but it had been a steady and resilient friendship that bloomed into something beautiful when something synthetic couldn't.

_...cause to someone in this world, you surely are._


End file.
